Second Chances Part Two
by anmodo
Summary: This is a continuation of my Broken Trust Broken HeartsSecond Chances series. It's DannyOC, but all characters, especially Martin, will be involved.
1. Chapter 1

Notes: This story is a continuation of Broken Trust Broken Hearts and Second Chances. If you don't remember or don't want to go back and read those stories, basically Danny is in an established relationship with his college girlfriend, Anna Ridley. They became engaged in the final chapter of Second Chances. They broke up in BTBH because of his drinking and cheating ways. Then in Second Chances, they reunited eight years later. Anna struggled with trusting him again, but finally, they worked through their many issues.

In Second Chances, Rafael had gotten out of prison just like in canon, but Off the Tracks hadn't happened yet when I wrote it. So in this story, Off the Tracks, Endgame and Elena never happened, but any other canon information could be included.

Thanks to Mariel for betaing.

* * *

"This is smaller than where I live now," Danny whispered in Anna's ear as they toured their fifth apartment.

"Shhh," Anna hushed as she tightened her grip around his arm.

The apartment broker didn't hear because she was prattling on as she walked around the small space. Danny tried to contain his laughter as she threw out words like quaint and charming. By no means was he an expert at real estate, but even he knew those words actually meant "needs work" and "incredibly tiny."

"Well, what do you think?" the broker asked as she raised the shade on the window that showed a view of the brick wall across the alley. "I bet this window gets some good light in the morning."

A giggle escaped Danny's lips as he responded, "What do we think? We think—"

Anna further tightened her grip on his arm as she interrupted, "We think it's lovely, but it's not quite what we're looking for."

"I see," the broker replied in a tone that was starting to sound annoyed. "Well, I've shown you all I had on the schedule for today."

"We appreciate your time. We really do. If you see anything else come open that you think we'd be interested in, please call us," Anna said as she smiled politely as they walked into the hall.

"I wouldn't hold my breath," the broker said she headed toward the stairs.

"We'll try not to, but thanks for your time," Danny said as he gave her a small wave before she descended the stairs.

"That wasn't necessary," Anna said as she turned to him.

"Sure it was," he said with a smirk before leaning down to give her a quick kiss on the lips. "Hey, I know we said we wanted to stay in the city, but Brooklyn is looking better and better. The commute wouldn't be that bad."

Frowning, Anna rubbed her eyes. "Yes, it would. I'm on call at the crisis center three nights a week. I hate riding the subway at night."

"I hate the thought of you riding the subway at night, too, but I'm not sure we have a choice. You'll have to start driving more, I guess."

"There's a scary thought. Me? Driving in the city at night," she replied as she rolled her eyes. "Let's look at one more place."

Narrowing his eyebrows, he asked, "Where? The broker said this was all that was available in our price range."

"I don't think this place is on her radar. A friend told me about it. Come on," Anna said as she took his hand and they walked down the stairs.

A half and hour later, they walked up to a run-down building in Tribeca.

"This place doesn't look too impressive," Danny said as they approached the door.

"It's been newly renovated on the inside. I think they are still working on restoring the outside," Anna said as she took out a key.

"You have a key?"

"Um…yeah. I kind of made arrangements to look at this place earlier."

Eyeing her skeptically, Danny nodded as she unlocked the door. After she opened it, they walked through a foyer and entered an elevator, where they proceeded to ride up to the sixth floor. The doors opened to another small foyer with two doors. Using another key, Anna opened one of the doors and they walked in to the apartment.

"It's pretty obvious why this place wasn't on our broker's radar," Danny said as he walked around the small, but open living room and kitchen area.

"It's not that much bigger than those places, but there is an extra bedroom," Anna said as she walked down the hall towards the rooms. "And the master bedroom has a walk-in closet," she called out in an excited tone.

The apartment was small, but in a word, beautiful, with finished hardwood floors, a fireplace, and two large bay windows overlooking a park across the street. On the other side of the living room, next to the open kitchen, there was a door leading out to a makeshift balcony that doubled as a fire escape. A short hallway off the living room led to two bedrooms and bathrooms. Shaking his head, Danny ran his hand along the butcher-block island in the kitchen. This place was definitely out of the question for them.

Following her into the master bedroom, Danny was shaking his head. "We could never afford this place. Once the building starts to get tenants, there will definitely be a doorman downstairs. That's way out of our league. What we'd pay to rent this place, we could buy something bigger out of the city."

"Actually, they aren't renting these spaces. They are condos," she explained in a timid tone.

This made Danny laugh. "Are you trying to depress us? Why did you even want to look at this place? It's not nearly as big as your loft, but it's still going to be too expensive."

"I wanted you to see it, because I thought if you saw it then you would be more willing to talk about our options."

"What options? We can't afford to buy a two-bedroom condo in Manhattan," he responded emphatically. "This place will easily go for a half a mill…probably more, and then there are the building maintenance fees and…and property taxes every year. No bank is ever going to loan an FBI agent and a counselor enough money for this place.

"We wouldn't have to worry about a mortgage, Danny," she replied, voice still timid.

And with that, a light bulb went off in Danny's head. Shaking his head, he asked, "Your Dad wants to pay for this, doesn't he?"

"Not exactly. We're selling the loft for three times what he paid for it. He wants to use a small portion of the profits to buy this place for us…as a wedding gift. We can handle the maintenance fees on our own after that. It's a one-time gift for an apartment in a great location. I'm in walking distance of the crisis center, and you're two subway stops away from your office. And we have the extra bedroom, so when we're ready to start a family, we won't have to worry about moving. It's perfect, baby," she explained as she reached out to stroke his arm.

Rubbing his eyes, Danny shook his head.

"Danny," Anna said in a pleading voice.

"I can't do this. I can't live in a place that I could never afford to pay for. When I talked to your Dad about marrying you, he said he'd give us a small monetary wedding gift from the sale of the loft to help us get started. I was expecting down payment money, not a half a million dollars."

"It's just money. This is just a comfortable place to live. It's not who I am. Or who you have to be. No one is going to think any less of you. I just want us to be together."

"We are together, but I can't…I can't live with you here."

Becoming exasperated by his stubbornness, she sighed heavily. "Dammit, Danny. That's not fair. This is something that comes from me…from my life. I'm asking you to give in on this one thing so that you and I can be a little more comfortable. I'd live anywhere just to be with you. Can you say the same?"

XXX

Absently drumming his pencil against the center table, Danny carefully regarded Martin for a moment. Deciding that there was no harm in asking, he started, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Martin replied as he kept his eyes focused on reviewing the paper work in front of him.

"Do you or have you in the past accepted a lot of money from your parents…like for a place to live or…or a car?"

Shaking his head, Martin laughed. "No, Danny. I can't say that I have. My parents don't have that kind of money, despite what you obviously think."

Danny nodded as his eyes narrowed. " I bet you had a hefty college fund, though."

Martin smiled. "I had a partial scholarship, but yes, they paid for the rest. Why are you asking?"

"Anna's father wants to give us a condo as a wedding gift."

"That's some gift," he responded as his eyes widened slightly.

"You're telling me. It's a really nice place in this newly renovated building in Tribeca. "

"Nice address. But you don't want to accept it?"

Danny shrugged uneasily as he took a short breath. "I don't know. I mean, she's put up with a lot when it comes to me. I kind of feel like a jerk for feeling so strongly about this, but I just don't thinks its right to be in debt to someone for so much. I mean, her Dad's a nice guy, but inevitably, this is something he can hold over us for the rest of our lives. Why would I want to choose to live like that?"

"God, Danny, you have to be the most cynical person I've ever met," Martin responded, shaking his head. "Look, I know what its like to have a meddlesome father, believe me. But I seriously doubt Anna's father would hold this over you. He wants his daughter to be happy. He wants her to have a nice place to live and he has the means to pay for it. Even if he is meddlesome, since when does that bother you? You're always going to do your own thing, and Anna knows that. Her Dad probably does, too."

Running his hand over his chin, Danny nodded. "Okay, maybe you have a point, but what about the right and wrong of it. I'll never make enough money to live in a place like that. How could I do that?"

"Look at it from Anna's perspective. How can she be expected to live like she's living when she has the means to buy that apartment? Would you really want to deny her that?"

XXX

Anna hurriedly walked into the downtown restaurant to get out of the pouring rain. As soon as she entered, the hostess handed her a towel.

"It just comes from nowhere, doesn't it?" the hostess said as Anna toweled off her face.

"Seriously! I left work ten minutes ago, and it was clear as a bell," she responded as she handed the towel back to the hostess.

"Do you have a reservation?" the hostess asked.

"I do. Yes. Taylor, party of two, but my date probably hasn't—"

"He's here," the hostess said. "Got here just before the rain started."

"Of course, he did. He's always late, but somehow he's early before the downpour starts."

The hostess smiled. "You're a lucky girl. He's dreamy."

"Yeah…lucky me," Anna replied dryly as she let the hostess lead her to the table.

As soon as he saw her, he stood up from the table. "Hey," he greeted. "Get a little wet?" he asked as he leaned down to kiss her.

Anna accepted the kiss and then smiled. "Ha, ha. How'd you get here so soon?"

"I literally couldn't wait another minute to see you," he replied as they both sat down.

Rolling her eyes, Anna shook her head.

"I'm serious. I've been thinking about you all day," Danny said in an earnest tone.

"What have you been thinking?"

"I've been thinking about our living arrangements—"

"Danny, don't," she interrupted. "I don't want argue about this again. I give up. Okay? You win. We'll start looking at places in Brooklyn or Queens or wherever else we can afford. It's not worth—"

"—arguing about," he also interrupted.

"Right," Anna said, but her tone sounded short.

"I don't want to argue about it anymore either, so let's just talk about it some other time."

"Fine," Anna responded.

"Great," Danny responded with a smirk as he opened his menu.

XXXXXXXXX

One hour later, Anna walked out of the restaurant after using the lady's room. Danny had already hailed a cab and was waiting with the door open.

"Thanks," she said before sliding into the cab.

Danny slid in next to her and the cab driver pulled away from the curb.

While they'd had a nice dinner, Anna hadn't been particularly talkative. She'd listened to Danny tell her about his latest case, but she hadn't had much to say to him. Normally, they would have had coffee after because they would have still been talking, and Anna would have eaten the whole dessert that Danny had promised he'd split with her. But after they'd eaten, Danny had just asked for the bill because the last half hour of their dinner had been almost silent.

The cab ride was even more silent, with Anna's occasional sigh the only sound being made. Neither of them said a word until the cab driver pulled over to the curb about ten blocks from where Anna lived.

"Excuse me, sir. This isn't my address," Anna said as she leaned forward.

"It's the address he gave me," the cab replied as he motioned back to Danny.

Taking money out of his wallet, Danny smiled as he paid the driver. "Thanks," he said as he opened the door of the cab.

"What's going on, Danny?" Anna asked as he helped her out of the cab.

"It's a beautiful night. I just thought we'd walked the rest of the way."

"Are you crazy? It's been raining off and on for the last hour. We're going to get soaked," she responded with a confused frown.

"It's just a little rain."

Sighing heavily, Anna shook her head. "I'm not in the mood for this tonight. I've already been rained on once today. I just want to go home, take a bath and go to bed."

"Just indulge me. Let's walk for a little while," he said, extending his hand.

Shrugging with an annoyed expression, Anna took his hand. They walked to the next block and Anna's heart deflated a bit because this was the location of the condo that she'd shown Danny.

Danny looked around as if just recognizing the location. "Hey, isn't this where—"

"Yes," she replied, cutting him off.

"Looks like they've started work on the outside," he said as he pointed to the scaffolding.

"Appears so. Can we go please?"

Letting go of her hand, Danny walked toward the building and looked in the window. "It looks like they are doing something with the foyer."

"Why are you doing this, Danny? It's not nice."

"Let's take a look," he said, essentially ignoring her comment.

"What? Why?" she asked in a confused tone.

"Let's just see what they've done to the entrance," he said as he walked up the steps.

"No. There's no point."

"Come on," he said as he tried to open the door.

"It's locked, Danny. You can't just go inside," Anna responded as she watched Danny take something out of his pocket. "You're not going to pick the lock, are you?" she asked as she rushed up the stairs.

Danny laughed. "Now what would make you think _that I_ could pick a lock?" he asked in a mocking tone.

Rolling her eyes, she gasped a little when she reached him. He was using a key to open the door. "You have—"

"A key. I have a key," Danny said as he opened the door for her.

"Why? What's going on?"

"Let's look at it again," he replied in a low tone.

"Danny, I don't want to get my hopes—"

Reaching out, he laid his palm against her cheek. "Let's take a look at it again."

Feeling an excitement swell inside of her, she just nodded and then made her way into the foyer. After riding up in the elevator, they got off on the sixth floor and then Danny opened the apartment door. As Anna walked in, tears came to her eyes as hundreds of pale pink petals floated away as the door opened.

Anna watched in amazement as Danny started lighting strategically placed candles that illuminated the room. With more light, she could see that there were several vases with more pale pink roses, her favorite, placed throughout the living room area. The roses surrounded a makeshift sleeping bag bed in the center of the floor.

When Danny finished lighting the candles, he closed the apartment door and then stood directly in front of her.

She was still speechless as she took the room in.

"Say something," he said in a low tone.

As if awakened from a trance, she shook her head. "I…I…," not able to finish, she just leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

XXXXXXXX

An hour later, they lay side by side on the sleeping bag, Anna using the crook of Danny's arm as a pillow.

"Is it really ours?" she whispered as they stared at the ceiling.

"It will be," Danny replied. "As of tomorrow morning, we'll be in escrow."

Anna smiled as she turned on side to nestle herself into his chest. "What made you change your mind? And why on earth did you let me pout all night?"

Danny laughed. "It made the payoff much sweeter, don't you think? And you're adorable when you pout."

"This was quite a production. And how very presumptuous of you to bring in a sleeping bag!"

"Well, I kind of jipped you on the romantic engagement, so I figured I owed this to you. And I was just covering all the bases with the sleeping bag. If I hadn't, we'd be very uncomfortable right now."

"So you've already talked to my father?"

"We spoke this afternoon. He's meeting us here tomorrow with the real estate agent. I still feel a little strange about that."

"So, what made you change your mind?"

Running his fingers through her hair, he responded, "We grew up in two very different worlds. After my parents died, no one ever gave me anything just for the sake of giving it. There were always strings attached. Until you, I never knew what unconditional love meant. But just because I grew up that way doesn't mean you have to inherit all of that baggage. While I still have reservations, I can't deny you something that's going to make you happy."

Pulling herself up so could face him, Anna kissed him. "You won't regret this. I promise. You deserve to have good things happen for you, too."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Martin was in the coffee area making his first cup of the day when he heard Danny.

"Good morning!" he called out joyfully as he poured a little cream into his cup.

"Why are you in such a good mood on a Monday morning?" Martin asked as he stifled a yawn.

Danny smiled as he poured his coffee. "I had a good weekend…a really good weekend and you are actually partially to thank."

"I am?" Martin asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"You are."

"What did I do?"

"Anna and I put a contract on the condo this weekend, with the help of her father."

Smiling in recognition, Martin nodded. "So you are taking the leap, huh? How do you feel about it?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm completely freaked about the whole thing: the marriage, the condo, and everything that comes after. But I know I'm doing the right thing. So I just keep telling myself that."

"That's good. That's really good, Danny. So have you two set a date yet?"

Danny nodded. "Funny you should ask, we talked about it this weekend. We're closing on the condo in two months, so we're thinking of getting married the weekend before."

"Two months? I thought Anna would be the type to want a big wedding."

Shrugging, Danny responded, "Since her mom died, she just doesn't have the same pull to go through all those "big wedding" motions. And we figure not having a huge wedding makes the whole condo thing a little more reasonable. We'll just do a small ceremony at her Dad's house."

"Sounds good. Congratulations, man," Martin said, extending his hand.

"Thanks," Danny replied, shaking his hand. "And thanks for the advice. You have a much better understanding of where Anna comes from than I do."

"Anytime—"

"There you are," Jack said as he walked towards them. "I need to talk to you two in my office."

"Okay," Danny responded hesitantly giving Martin a confused frown as they followed Jack to his office.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Walking into Jack's office, Danny saw that a man he didn't know was sitting in a chair, and Alex Olzcyk, Jack's boss, was standing next to him.

As soon as they entered, the man stood up and extended his hand. "Martin! Great to see you again" the man greeted, shaking Martin's hand.

"Director Nelson, good to see you again as well," Martin replied, hesitation in his tone.

"You know I played golf with your father last Sunday. The old man is losing it in his old age," Director Nelson said with a gregarious smile.

Nodding, Martin just smiled slightly in response.

"Danny, this is Director Nelson from the DEA," Jack explained.

"Agent Taylor," Director Nelson said as he shook Danny's hand.

"Sir," Danny replied politely.

"You're probably wondering what this is about?" Director Nelson said as he glanced from Danny to Martin.

"Yes, sir," Martin responded.

"A delicate situation has risen in my ranks. We've had two undercover agents disappear in the last two months. They were both working on separate assignments. Their only link is that they were both working out of Miami."

Raising his eyebrows, Danny glanced from Martin to Jack.

"This has caused concern in my office because three months ago, two other undercover agents were killed in the line of duty. They were also in Miami."

"Sounds like you have a leak in your Miami office, sir," Danny commented after they took in the Director's words.

The Director nodded his head. "Appears that way. Yes."

"May I ask what that has to do with us?" Martin asked.

Speaking for the first time since they'd entered the office, Olczyk answered, "Director Nelson wants to conduct an investigation of the disappearances by putting an unknown agent undercover in the De la Cruz organization. This is the organization that Agent Gonzalez was working with when he went missing. It was also the organization that Agent Ramirez was working for when she was killed three months ago. We think the leak might be associated with that organization."

"You want our team to conduct the investigation as a Missing Persons' case?" Martin asked in a confused tone.

"Not exactly," Director Nelson answered. "I mean its definitely a plus that you have a background in tracking missing people, but that's not our main focus in coming to you for assistance," Nelson said as he looked squarely at Danny.

Danny glanced at Jack, but Jack just sighed as he looked down. Then Danny looked back at Director Nelson. "You want me to go undercover?"

"That's right," Director Nelson confirmed.

Martin stepped forward. "We don't do a lot of undercover work here – nothing like what the DEA is involved in. Why Da—"

Olczyk interrupted. "Director Nelson did a database search on all government law enforcement outside of the DEA. This included CIA and FBI, as well as agents in training at Quantico. Agent Taylor's name came up as the best candidate."

"I did?" Danny responded in complete surprise. "I mean, my name, sir?"

"Yes," the director answered. "There are the obvious reasons: your ethnicity, you speak Spanish, and your exemplary record here as a dedicated, honest agent. But there are other intangibles that make you the perfect selection."

"Intangibles?" Danny asked.

"Your brother doing time in prison and his juvenile history in trafficking, for starters."

Completely surprised at the mention of his brother, Danny frowned. "I don't understand, sir. What does that have to do with anything?"

"For Special Agent Danny Taylor, it's not relevant. But for Danny Alvarez, it could be very helpful in establishing your cover," the Director explained.

"I, um, I'm sorry, sir. I, uh," Danny stammered, "I legally changed my name years ago. Danny Alvarez…he doesn't exist anymore."

"Actually, you're wrong about that," Olcyzk responded. "Technically, Danny Alvarez falls off the radar when he turned 18. We can take your identity at that time and create whatever we want. We can make it so Danny Taylor and Danny Alvarez are two completely different people."

A wave of uneasiness overwhelmed Danny. He looked over at Jack for some kind of direction as to what he should do, but Jack wouldn't meet his eyes.

Not getting the kind of support he'd been hoping for, Danny looked back at Director Nelson. "I just don't know if I'm the right person for this type of job, sir."

Sensing that Danny needed some back up, Martin said, "As I said, sir, we don't do a lot of undercover work in missing persons. And especially nothing in a deep cover capacity. There have to be agents with more—"

"More experience?" Director Nelson interrupted. "Perhaps. But there's no one who has an airtight cover identity like Agent Taylor. Other intangibles? You have very little family that would get in the way of this type of undercover operation. You're single—"

"He is engaged, though, sir," Martin said. "He's due to get married in two months. It's a lot to ask—"

"You're not asking, are you?" Danny cut Martin off as he looked at Director Nelson.

"We can't force you, Agent Taylor, but we are considering this an official order. Chances are, we'll have you out of there in less than a month," Olczyk replied. "This type of leak could lead to countless more casualties, Danny. You're in a very unique position to help…and to help in an immediate way. If we had to establish a cover for an agent at this point, we'd be three months away from starting anything. With you, we could have you in place by the end of the week."

Danny took a deep breath before asking. "Can I tell anyone? Can I tell my fiancé?"

Director Nelson shook his head. "No. With the exception of the people in this room, everyone will think you have been temporarily transferred for a training operation. It's safer for everyone that way."

"Why is Martin here?" Danny asked.

Jack finally looked up at him. "You need a contact, someone to relay information back to us. I'd do it, but it would look strange if I were leaving town once a week. I assumed Martin would be willing to fly down to check on your progress and fly back without any red flags," he said as he glanced at Martin.

Martin nodded. "Of course, but—"

"Okay," Danny responded. "You said I have until the end of the week?"

"We should have your cover established by Wednesday. I'll get in touch with SAC Olczyk when it's a go. He'll debrief you with all the details," Nelson said as he extended his hand to Danny's. "The DEA and your government is grateful for your service, son."

"Yes, sir," Danny responded weakly as he shook his hand.


	2. Chapter 2

Notes - Thanks for the reviews. This will most likely be a slowly-written story as I don't have much time now to write, but I will continue it. Thanks as always to Mariel for betaing!

* * *

Wearily, Danny stepped off the elevator and took a deep breath before entering Anna's apartment. After taking off his jacket and tie, he draped them on the back of the sofa. He could tell by the quiet apartment that Anna wasn't home yet.

Collapsing onto the sofa, Danny put his head in his hands as he tried to figure how he was going to tell her. Before he could formulate a thought, he heard the door open.

"You're here!" she called out in an excited tone as she struggled through the door with bags in her hands.

"I'm here," he answered quietly as he stood up quickly to take the bags from her.

"Thanks," she said as she gratefully handed the bags over to him.

As he followed her to the kitchen, she kept talking. "I've had an unbelievably productive day. First, I met with Christie's interior decorator. She may be my step-monster, but she definitely has connections with the best decorator in Manhattan. Anyway, the decorator evaluated what we already have, and we've decided that all we really need is a new sofa…since this one is a bit too contemporary. She showed me three that are just beautiful. And then we talked about window treatments. She showed me the most amazing fabric…" she trailed off when she saw that Danny's focus wasn't on her, but instead he seemed to be staring at a "Congratulations on Your Engagement" card on the refrigerator.

"Hey," she said as she lifted her hand to his cheek. "You okay? You seem—"

Startled, Danny finally looked her in the eyes. "I'm fine," he replied, leaning down to kiss her lips. "You were saying something about fabric?"

Her smile turning into a frown, Anna responded, "You're having second thoughts about the condo, aren't you?"

Shaking his head, Danny pulled her closer as he pressed his forehead to hers. "There's nothing I want more than to marry you and move into that apartment," he said as he let out of small sigh. "I wish it could all happen tomorrow."

"Then what's wrong? You look—"

"Just had a long day," he whispered as his lips trailed down her forehead to her cheek, finally landing on her neck.

"Do you want to talk—"

Feeling his head shake against the curve of her neck, she stopped talking when she felt his lips on her neck again. This time, he added pressure and it was all she could do to keep breathing.

After a few minutes, his lips travelled back to her lips, and he kissed her softly before looking deep into her eyes. "Tell me more about those sofas."

XXXXXXXXXX

It was three a.m., and Danny hadn't gone to sleep yet. He'd been watching her sleep for hours. He'd tried to tell her, or rather to lie to her, about the "training" operation, but he couldn't do it. She'd been so happy telling him about all the plans for their new home that he hadn't wanted to say anything to end her happy state.

The whole idea of the undercover operation was making him nervous, and he wasn't sure he could hide that from Anna. Not to mention that he'd promised her that he'd stop lying to protect her, and now he was being ordered to do just that.

Taking a deep breath, Danny reached out to tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear.

Stirring slightly, her eyes started to flutter open. Taking his hand a way quickly, Danny closed his eyes to pretend he was sleeping.

"Why on earth are you still awake?" she asked in a sleepy, irritated tone.

At first, Danny didn't respond.

"I can tell by your breathing that you're awake."

Smiling sheepishly, he opened his eyes. "Caught me."

"It's three in the morning and you look like you are wide awake. Have you slept at all?" she asked as she yawned.

"A little," he responded quietly.

"Danny, what's—"

"I love you. You know that, right?" he asked, cutting her off as he took hold of her hand.

"Of course."

"Good. Never doubt that," he said as he interlaced their fingers together.

Taking a moment to really look at him in the moonlight, she saw the worry that was firmly etched in his brow. "You're scaring me," she said as emotion crept in her voice.

"I'm sorry," he responded weakly.

"Tell me what's going on," she pleaded as she held his hand tighter.

He looked at her for a few moments, just taking in her soft features in that were highlighted by moonlight. Slowly, he leaned into her and kissed her.

"Danny…" she whimpered as he rolled her onto her back.

He kissed a path between her lips and her ear, and then he whispered, "We'll talk in the morning. Prometo, mi amor."

Almost rolling her eyes, she just nodded slightly, took a short breath, and then let herself relax beneath him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Danny was gone. He'd left a note saying that he'd gotten called in to work, but Anna was still feeling uneasy. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong, so she made her way over to his office during her lunch hour. She's called him while on her way, and since she hadn't given him the option of refusing her, he'd agreed to meet her at the coffee shop across from his office building.

Sitting at a table, Anna sipped hot coffee as she waited for him to arrive. Finally, after waiting for twenty minutes, he hurried in the door. Raising his eyebrows, he gave her a nod as he walked towards her.

"Hey," he greeted, leaning down to kiss her forehead before sitting across from her. "I don't have much time. We have to—"

"This won't take long," she interrupted. "Actually, it's up to you how long it takes because you're the one who has to explain—"

"Not now. Okay? I would've talked to you this morning, but then I got called—"

"What is going on, Danny? Why are you being so damn cryptic? I'm not leaving until you talk to me," she pleaded.

Taking a deep breath, Danny ran his hand over his jaw. "I, um, I have to leave for a while…for work."

Frowning, Anna almost laughed. "What? Are…are you serious? You go away on cases all the time—"

"This isn't a case. It's…it's a training operation," he interrupted in as convincing a tone as he could muster, "and I'll be gone for at least a month."

Her frowned deepened as she sat back in her seat. Tightening her lips into a thin line, she processed what he'd just told her. "A…a month? Why kind of operation?"

Danny shrugged. "It's hard to explain. Um, I don't even know much about it yet. I just know that I'll have to go at the end of this week."

Her eyes revealed complete shock as she responded, "This week?"

Danny nodded. "I just didn't want to tell you after we'd just made the plans about the wedding and the apartment."

"A month? Can you come back on the weekends at least?" she asked. The prospect of him going away was hitting her hard as tears welled in her eyes.

Reaching out, he grasped both of her hands in his. "I can't come home until the training operation ends, but I'll be home before you know it. Don't…don't cry," he replied as he gently stroked her hands.

"I'm sorry," she said as her voice cracked with emotion. "Its just…things were going so well and we were making plans. What about the wedding?"

"I'll be back in time for the wedding and I'll be back in time to move into the apartment. Think about it this way: At least now, you can decorate it however you want it. You won't have me telling you we can't afford something."

Shaking her head, she took one of hands from his to wipe the corner of her eyes. "I like running things past you and finding ways to talk you into things," she said with a small smile.

Returning her smile, Danny reached out and touched her cheek. "I'll be back as soon as I can and we'll start our life together just like we've planned."

XXXXXXXXX

Twenty minutes later, Danny found himself driving to New Jersey with Martin. In the middle of trying to convince Anna that everything would be okay, Martin had called to say they needed to get to New Jersey to pursue a suspect.

"You okay?" Martin asked after they'd ridden in relative silence for almost fifteen minutes.

Danny nodded. "I'm fine."

"Did you tell her? Is that why you were meeting Anna at the coffee shop?"

Glancing over at Martin, Danny took a short breath. "Yeah. I'd been avoiding telling her. She finally cornered me into explaining."

"How'd she take it?"

"Not well," he replied in a short tone.

"I'm sure you'll be back in plenty of time."

"I hope so, but in the meantime, can I ask you a favor?"

"Name it."

"Just…um…check in on her every once in a while? She has her Dad and step-mother close by, but—"

"You don't even have to ask, Danny. I'll take care of it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that night

After finishing with their latest case, Danny hurried back to his apartment to grab a clean suit and check his messages. He never stayed at his apartment anymore, but stopped by every few days to check on it. Most of his clothes had made their way into Anna's closet.

Suit in hand, he opened his front door to find Jack on the other side with his fist up read to knock.

"Hey," Danny said in a surprised tone.

Jack nodded. "Hey. I…uh…I was hoping to catch you here, outside the office. I was going to call—"

"What's going on? What's wrong?" Danny asked.

Jack held up a sealed yellow envelope. "Olcyk gave me your background and orders for the undercover op."

"Why didn't you give it to me at the office earlier tonight?"

"Because once I give this to you, you can't go back to the office. Once you open this envelope, the operation will begin."

"Why are giving it to me tonight then? Olcyk said I wouldn't go until the end of the week."

Jack shook his head. "They are ready for you to start right now. Nelson wants you in Miami tomorrow morning."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Next Morning

"What time can I meet you there?" Anna asked as she finished buttoning her blouse as she balanced the phone between her ear and her shoulder. She listened to the response, and then said, "I can be there at four. I'll call Danny to see if he can meet us, but I'm betting he'll tell me that he'll like whatever I pick out. I don't think he has any desire to—"

Hearing a knock at the door, she glanced at the clock. "Who would be here at 8 a.m.? Hang on, Christie," she said to her stepmother as she walked to the door.

Opening it slightly, her eyes widened when she saw Jack Malone. "I, um, I have to go Christie. I'll call you later," she said and then hung up as she opened the door wider. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. "What's wrong, Jack?"

Danny had called her the night before to say he was working late on a case and it would be easier to crash at his place. That wasn't unusual, so Anna hadn't questioned it. But now, Jack was at her door, and that could only mean that something had happened to Danny.

"What is it? What's happened?" Anna said as emotion crept into her tone.

"Nothing. I mean, Danny's okay, but I need to tell you—"

"What? Where is he?"

"He's started his training operation. He had to leave first thing this morning."

Shaking her head, Anna turned as she walked to the sofa and sat down. "No, no, he wouldn't do that. He wouldn't leave with saying goodbye. I don't understand—"

"He wanted to say goodbye, but there wasn't any time," Jack responded as he walked into the loft and took a seat next to Anna.

"Can I talk to him now? Can I—"

Jack shook his head. "No, not right now. He's not in a place where there is cell coverage."

Giving him a confused frown, Anna shrugged. "How can that be? If it's just a training thing then why can't he make a phone call?"

Jack sighed as he carefully thought about what he was going to say next. "Think of it like military training. When I was in basic training, we couldn't use the phone for six weeks. He's in that type of environment, but he will call as soon as he gets a chance."

"This doesn't make sense, Jack," Anna said as she wiped the corners of her eyes.

"I'm sorry. It's a unique situation, but know that Danny was selected because he's one of the best. He'll be home soon," he said as he reached out and gently squeezed her hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Loosening his necktie, Martin took a deep breath as the warm Florida sun hit his face. Danny had been gone for only four days, but Jack had insisted that he go down to check on his progress.

After getting into his rental car, Martin took out the directions to the safe house that Director Nelson had given him. He drove for almost an hour before coming upon a normal, suburban-looking neighborhood. It didn't take him long to find the small house with palm trees in the front yard.

Martin exited the car and cautiously approached the house. After taking out a key, he unlocked and opened the front door.

"Hello?" he called out as he walked in the small foyer. "Hello?" he called out again.

"Hey," he heard Danny call out from a room in the back. "I'll be out in a minute."

Martin walked into the kitchen and smiled gratefully when he saw a fresh pot of coffee. He found a mug and poured himself a cup and then sat down at the kitchen table. On the table, he noticed an open file folder. Sliding the folder closer, he realized it was the records that had established Danny's cover. Martin shook his head as he read words like "aggravated assault" and "possession." According to the file, "Danny Alvarez" was a career criminal.

"Interesting reading, right?" Danny said as he walked into the kitchen.

"You could say that," Martin replied as he took a sip of his coffee. He watched as Danny poured a cup of coffee and then turned to him. Martin wasn't prepared for what he saw. "Christ! What happened to you?" Martin asked as he rose from his chair.

Danny ran his hand over his heavily bruised eye and still swollen lip. "It's not as bad as it looks," was all he said in response.

"Did you see a doctor?"

Danny nodded. "I found this free clinic downtown. They stitched above my eye, but there's not much else they could do."

"You should go—"

"I can't go to a regular hospital, Martin."

"Why not?"

"Because Danny Alvarez wouldn't go to a hospital. Beside, this is all about how tough I am. I had to double-cross this lowlife dealer to show one of the captains in the Reyes De la Cruz crew that I could do a better job. What I didn't count on was that the lowlife had friends the size of halfbacks."

Sitting back down, Martin took a deep breath. "This isn't…this is crazy, Danny. You're here without any back up. I don't understand how Jack could—"

Danny shrugged helplessly. "He didn't have choice," he responded as he took a seat across from Martin.

_Five Days Earlier_

"_I can't leave right now. Anna will never understand—"_

"_I'll talk to her. I'll make her understand. If you're going to do this, you have to go now."_

"_You make it sound like I have a choice, Jack. But in your office the other day, you really didn't have much to say at all."_

_Jack took a deep breath before sighing heavily. "I tried everything I could to stop this. I even called Martin's father, but they were desperate to get someone down there as soon as possible. The politics of this thing go very high, Danny. I think they are rushing it, but I don't have any power to help you here. You have to be careful and watch your back. I'm still going to do everything I can to get you back as soon as possible."_

_All of a sudden, the anxiety that Danny had been feeling about this mission doubled. Running a hand through his hair, he tried to keep his composure so he wouldn't worry Jack even more. "It's going to be okay. I'll establish my cover. I'll get them the information they want, and then I'll get the hell out."_

_Jack nodded, but the worried look on his face gave Danny a haunting feeling that he knew he wouldn't be able to shake._

"Maybe I should talk to my Dad—" Martin started to say after hearing about Jack's worries.

Danny interrupted quickly. "Don't worry about it. There's nothing anyone can do now. I'm already in this. It's just rougher than I thought it would be…getting close to these guys."

"How close are you?"

Taking a deep breath, Danny reached over and took a legal pad from the file that Martin had been looking out. "I've tried to make some notes…people that I've talked to…names, descriptions. You can take these and find out exactly who I'm dealing with down here. I've set up this generic e-mail account," he said as he pointed to a notation on the legal pad. "Just send whatever information you can to this account. Any additional background you can find will help me. Make sure you send it from a non-FBI computer."

"Okay. Got it. What else do you need?"

A small laugh escaped from Danny's lips. "For starters? You could come here looking a little less like a federal agent."

Martin smiled as he glanced down at his suit and then looked at Danny's beach attire of Bermuda shorts and t-shirt. "Give me a break, man. I busted my ass to get to the airport before I missed my flight. We had a tough case this week."

"Really? So what did Jack tell Viv and Sam…about me?"

"Same as he's told everyone else. You were recruited for a training op. They're both skeptical as hell, but they could tell that Jack wasn't in the mood to be questioned about it. I just pretended like I was finding out for the first time as well."

Sighing slightly, Danny stammered, "H-h-have you talked to Anna? Do you know how she took the news about…about me?"

"I haven't seen her yet, but Jack said she was pretty confused and upset…so much so that her Dad convinced her to stay with him and his wife for a few days. I planned on calling her when I got back."

Danny nodded. "Good. Thanks. Um, can you do one more personal thing?"

"Name it."

"My brother is going to start asking questions. I go to Nicky's soccer games sometimes. If I don't show up, he's bound to call Anna."

"Wouldn't that be better? If he heard the news from her?"

Danny shook his head. "No. I don't want him around her if I'm not there. We had an issue a few months ago. My brother is still…he's just not someone I completely trust, Martin. It's a long story—"

"I got it. Don't worry. I'll, um, I'll track him down first thing Monday."

Danny smirked as he shook his head. "He'd be shocked if he saw me right now."

"Your brother?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah. It's almost funny. This guy," he said as he lifted the file folder that held his new identity. "This is exactly who I never wanted to become…someone like my brother. And now, I'm pretending to be like him every day. It's just…" Danny stopped, not able to find the words.

"It's just temporary. It will be over soon," Martin said in an optimistic tone, not wanting to show Danny how worried he actually was.


End file.
